We helped launch Sentricon in Australia by making termites impossible to ignore.
YEAR
2000
CLIENT
Dow AgroSciences (Now Corteva AgriSciences)
INDUSTRY
Pest Management / Environmental Science
SERVICES
Integrated campaign strategy, media relations, trade enablement, content, live events, PR, education
The challenge
In 2000, Dow AgroSciences came to Spinifex with a product that could change how termites were treated forever: Sentricon the world’s first termite baiting system.
Australia was only the second market globally to launch it.
The problem?
No one understood baiting.
And that included the people who had termites.
In Australia, termites are invisible until they’re not. You don’t see them. You don’t think about them. And then one day, you put your foot through the floorboards.
At that point, most people wanted termites gone fast. But baiting wasn’t about instant action it was about eliminating the colony over time and monitoring ongoing risk.
Sentricon needed a story.
One that explained the science, supported the trade, and made the public care before it was too late.
Discovery
This wasn’t a product launch. It was a behaviour shift.
We had to:
- Create public urgency around termite damage
- Introduce baiting as a new category, not just another solution
- Support pest controllers in adopting and confidently selling the system
- Position Sentricon as the smarter, safer, longer-lasting option
People didn’t need to see termites.
They needed to understand what was happening under their feet—and why Sentricon was the only product designed to stay one step ahead.
Design
We developed a national, integrated campaign designed to drive awareness, media buzz, industry engagement and retail activation all at once.
At its centre: Termite Awareness Week.
This became our launchpad for a public conversation. Through real-life damage stories, expert interviews, and strategic media outreach, we turned termites into headline news.
Our campaign included:
- TV, radio and print coverage news and current affairs stories, not just ads
- A video news release, rolled out to all major networks
- Paid and earned placements across newspapers, home magazines and radio
- Outdoor banners on arterial roads, seen by more than 5 million motorists
- Shopping centre booths and live demos in partnership with home shows and magazines
- Collaboration with Better Homes & Gardens and Family Circle Home Show
And behind the scenes, we enabled the trade:
- Created a 6M Thinking Pack for Sentricon Authorised Operators complete with marketing tools, templates, messaging and assets
- Hosted a national Operator Conference, delivering product education and sales training
- Developed a consistent, professional language for communicating the baiting story at scale.
Delivery
Spinifex delivered every element of the campaign end-to-end:
- Media strategy, copywriting and proactive PR outreach
- Video production, real homeowner case studies and expert interviews
- Asset design and production across print, outdoor, digital and POS
- Full live event strategy, staffing and logistics for booths and demos
- Conference and operator engagement
- Coordination with Dow AgroSciences’ comms, technical, and distributor teams
And we did it shoulder-to-shoulder with the brilliant Dow AgroSciences crew who trusted us to help introduce a new way of thinking to a whole new market.
We didn’t just announce a product.
We changed how Australians thought about termites and what to do about them.
Watch how it all came together:
Results
National media coverage across all major networks
From breakfast shows to current affairs, termite damage became a mainstream story. Channel Ten even declared it “a national invasion.”
Termite Awareness Week became a public conversation
We gave the media a reason to talk and homeowners a reason to act.
Sentricon became the go-to solution
Recognised as innovative, effective and science-backed not just “another pest control option.”
Pest controllers came on board
The 6M Pack and conference support helped them adopt, sell and grow with Sentricon.
Millions reached, perceptions shifted
Over 14 million reached through earned media. More than 8 million through paid placements.
More importantly, Sentricon didn’t just land – it led. We had to create a paradigm shift. And we did – one homeowner, one headline, one colony at a time.
Need to launch something unfamiliar or
reshape how people think about what you do?
We’ll help you turn awareness into action and resistance into belief.